The present invention relates to a slide picture, i.e., photograph, data creation system and slide picture data. In particular, the present invention relates to a slide picture data creation system for setting preparates (slide glass) containing samples in microscopes, photographing the samples at high magnification, and generating and managing slide picture data, in pathological histological studies, hematological studies, genetic studies, cytological studies, and the like, as well as the generated slide picture data.
Recently, pathological histological, hematological, and genetic microscopic studies, and the like, have been performed by photographing samples of extracted pathological tissues and cells and blood, and the like, with a photographic apparatus equipped on a microscope, taking the pictures into a computer, and creating picture data that can be observed on a display. Such technology is described in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-222801.
In the above-mentioned conventional system, the work of setting preparates containing samples of pathological tissues, and the like, in the microscope and then replacing the preparates with others was performed manually. When creating large numbers of picture data, much time and labor was expended for replacement of the preparates. Also, in order to open and process large numbers of picture files when creating and browsing the pictures, a large amount of memory was necessary, and substantial processing time was required. Also, because basically only two-dimensional picture information could be photographed, the sample structure on the Z axis parallel to the optical axis of the microscope could not be discriminated from the photographed picture.
An object of the present invention, therefore, is to eliminate the aforementioned problems associated with the prior art, and to provide a slide picture data creation system that can automatically and efficiently perform the operation of supplying to a microscope large numbers of preparates containing samples such as pathological tissues.
An object of the present invention is also to generate rapidly and automatically the slide picture data, including a plurality of photographs of the necessary parts of the samples at high magnification by the microscope, as well as to provide the generated slide picture data.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention and the associated drawings.